DeBarge played high school ball for Barbe High in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Between 2008 and 2011, the Barbe Bowling team won three out of four state titles. The baseball program has won 11 state championships since 1998. They’ve been named the #1 team in the country a few times including DeBarge’s senior year when they went 39-2. The interesting thing is that in high school, he was a catcher. He went undrafted and attended Louisiana Lafayette and was a three-year starting shortstop for the Ragin’ Cajuns. As a sophomore, he hit .371/.448/.546 (.994) with 15 doubles and seven homers. In 2024, he hit .355/.418/.699 (1.117) with 19 doubles, three triples, and 21 home runs. In those three years, he stole 44 bases in 60 chances. 

With the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 draft, the Twins were thrilled to select and sign the diminutive infielder. He played in 25 games for Fort Myers after the draft. He was then pushed to High-A Cedar Rapids to start the 2025 season and that’s where he spent the full season in Iowa. The Twins selected Kaelen Culpepper earlier in the first round, so he got most of the starts at shortstop. DeBarge started 72 games at second base, 22 games at shortstop, 16 games in center field and four games in left field. Versatility will be an important part of his development, but he was named a minor league Gold Glove winner in 2025 for his work at second base.   

Offensively, it was a bit of a tale of two seasons for DeBarge. In April, his OPS was .864. In May, his OPS was .809. His OPS in June and July were .678 and .687, respectively. Then in August, his OPS was .552. In six games in September, his OPS was .569. This is not unusual. It’s one of those things that all pro players need to figure out for themselves. Presumably the Twins worked with him on an offseason plan to keep him stronger throughout the full season. DeBarge can fill out a state line. He does a solid job of getting on base. He has mostly doubles and gap-to-gap power. I can’t imagine many thought that he would have as many stolen bases as he did. He ended the season with 66 steals in 74 chances. He began the season with 31 straight steals. Through June, he was 43-for-44 in steal attempts. At the end of July, he was 55-for-58.